The Road To Musslinn
by nooneimportant14
Summary: This is a Ficitonal Fantasy - The Roman Empire has a secret military establishment in the wastelands of South Egypt, where the threat of being discovered is just around the corner
1. The Stray Soldier

_The Road To Musslinn_

_By Luke Neely_

_Chapter 1_

_The Stray Soldier_

_**The Golden sheet of sand stretches over the horizon , old cactuses and dead trees flood the vast plains, an orange texture fills the air to make a blood stain coloured sky. The soft howl of the wind rebounds off the hard rock ground, like a whisper of a ghost. **_

_**The rivers have soaked up, the trees have died, and nothing more lives, nothing more survives for thousands and thousands of miles. **_

_**Gambella…that is the name which they gave to this god forsaken land. Such an awful, isolated, perilous place, however, so magnificent, and mysterious. **_

_**Right in the depth of hell, right in the middle of no where, lies the most beautiful, amazing holiest place on Earth. **_

_**Where there is only happiness, good fortune, safety, no more heat, no dry deserts but grass and water. They call it Musslinn, Life's Sanctuary. It is where salvation waits, a doorway to heaven. **_

_**A place so beautiful just waiting to be found. Only old folk talk about it's existence, few men have claimed to have been there, few men still dare to seek it…Musslinn, it is going to be found, by me…**_

_The arched wooden door creaked as it opened, standing on the other side was a man dressed in dark-red robes. He was waring a small helmet with a sparkling green emerald on the top of the centre stem. Golden chains hung off the back and travelled down the man's rough neck like long hair. The man had a gracious look, standing at the doorway in another man's presence. _

_The other man was a lot bigger, both muscle and fat. He had moderate length hair, it had already lost its colour. His eyes were a light blue, full of experience. He was too wearing a dark-red robe, which folded at his feet. The rims were made of white silk. A long gold necklace hung over his neck, holding a red crystal. _

_The man at the door removed the helmet from his head. _

"_My Lord, some locals have picked up a stray soldier in the bamboo field…he's feared to be a Sacrean" The man said quickly, holding his helmet at his padded chest. _

_Lord Chapplinn put his quill down and looked up at the man._

"_Where is he?" He asked, his voice calm and slow. _

"_The guards have got him down at the town centre, he's in critical shape, he was found begging for water, a group of youngsters went down into the bamboo fields for the night, he was armed when they found him, he didn't try to harm them though, as I said, he's in quite a state, I presume his been out there for a couple of days, he hasn't said a word, still, he looks like a Sacrean" The man went on, his voice skipping and stuttering. This was something that he was known to do. He was always worked up on something. _

"_Godric…calm yourself" Lord Chapplinn said, holding up his hand. Godric forced himself to a stop, swallowing. _

"_Take me to him" ._

_Godric led Lord Chapplinn down the stone staircase, which worked its way downwards to the bottom of the tower. Every five or so meters you would pass an artistic glass window. All with different pictures on them, though all of them with water and trees in them. Lord Chapplinn was obsessed with that kind of flora. Who wouldn't be, after being away from it for twenty years. They allowed for the long thick beams of light to come through and shine on the brown stone walls. _

_This building, as dirty as it may seem to outlanders, was in fact the most luxurious well-cared-for building in Veronica Camp. It was Lord Chapplinn's castle. _

_Lord Chapplinn was the King of Veronica Camp. He was the most respected and powerful man in the city, maybe even the whole country. _

_He was in his late fifties, though if you saw him yourself, except for his appearance, you'd think he was only young. He was highly energetic. A natural in combat skills. He had fought in many battles in his time. He had led the Romans into the Battle of Silianne, and had led them well. It was after that battle, where he led his army to the coast lines of South West Italy to fight the Vikings, that he came back victorious and had won approval of the King of Rome himself. _

_Such an honour it was, however, he was not rewarded in such ways as he had hoped for. Instead he was sent to the most awful place on Earth. _

_Gambella was located down in the border line of Egypt. Where there was nothing but desert. For thousands and thousands of miles there was nothing but wasteland, not until you got closer to one of the only rivers left, The Green Row. _

_This river stretched right through the desert and would eventually reach the ocean, on each side. No one had ever found out how deep it really was. No one ever would, The Green Row was infested with what the Egyptians called Satin's Dogs, but by the Romans, they were called Melosaurs. They were giant sea lizards, which preyed off whatever came into the river, being either birds, dogs, even humans. Few people who had actually seen one had lived to describe them, because they were usually the ones who were in the water at the time, it was really hard to catch sight of them on land, as their attack patterns were so fast, one second you'd see someone quietly standing in the water, one more and they were gone, with nothing left but bits of their carcasses, which float back up after time. _

_They were about five meters in length, the big ones could even reach ten. Most people described them as giant legless crocodiles, or giant snakes. They were the serpents of the Green Row. One of the most aggressive, lethal carnivores of the sea._

_This was not the only thing that the people of Veronica Camp had to watch out for though, there was another enemy species which roamed the lands of Gambella. A much larger and dangerous group. _

_The Sacreans were part of the Egyptian Civilization. Their leader was Barloss Varamakka. He was considered one of the most immoral men of Africa. He was a man of no mercy. He would send his armies into islands of the Mediterranean Sea and completely wipe them out, killing every living soul there. The Sacreans considered their homeland to be the north African Regions, which consisted of Gambella. _

_Chapplinn feared the day when the Sacreans would discover his presence in Gambella. If they ever did find out it would be the end of Veronica Camp. _

_The more Chapplinn thought about this, he started to feel more like Godric, who was still muttering nervously to himself. If it was true and he was a Sacrean, then it would mean a lot of things. Quite frankly, Chapplinn didn't want to think of them. He preferred to hope that it was just a misunderstanding and that this man was just a native of the desert or something. The chances did seem remote though, how often did you come across people who weren't from Veronica just wondering around the desert. _

_Godric opened the door which led to the outside of the castle. All of a sudden Chapplinn felt the sudden blast of heat spill over his face. His eyes squinted as they crossed the dirt yard and moved towards the big stone gate. The castle was located in the northern regions of the city but it was shut off by a large fortified wall. The walls made a square perimeter of about one square kilometre. Inside the castle grounds was also a church, which was for the most highly regarded residents of Veronica. It was also the home of Generio Tukkesattie, the most respected priest of Veronica, and a very close friend to Chapplinn. _

_Their were also a couple of nice stone houses with exotic plants growing around them. This was where the other members of the castle lived. _

_The last building was a small restaurant, which served either fish, duck, or berries. There was not a lot of variety in the food of Veronica. Most people decided to take care of their own food and go out into the river to fish. There were a lot of fish in the Green Row. No one was thick enough to go anymore than fifty miles of the docks, because that was where the Melosaurs started to breed. They were rarely seen close to the docks because there wasn't as many animals coming in. The Melosaur knew that they were better off hunting for animals than humans because the humans were always on boats, and were sometimes armed. The animals were defenceless, and hadn't quite figured out that the river was a dangerous place. They would catch a lot more animals out in the wilderness than in the harbour. Though, when people did choose to travel downstream, there was a big chance that they would never be seen again. _

_Godric and Chapplinn stopped at the metal gate and looked up to one of the guards standing on the right turret. There was a turret on each side of the gate. The guard nodded at Lord Chapplinn after inspecting him from his turret. The gates opened, making a rhythmic sound. _

_Through the gates was the city of Veronica. After your first few seconds of standing there, you would get the whole idea of the city. Everywhere was people, dressed in all kinds of ways, all heavily tanned. The whole city was like a giant super market. All along the alley ways and paths were mats and rugs with antiques or foods on them. _

_Everyone ran their own business, you had to if you wanted to survive. It was a cruel world. _

_Everyone was competing against each other to get the better lifestyle, everyone was prepared to ruin someone else's life just to better their's. No one thought about each other, they only cared about themselves. Lord Chapplinn had said so many times before, Gambella was a horrible place…but it was home, and even this place could make an acceptation. _

_Godric and Chapplinn finally reached the town centre. This building was where everyone in this area of the city would meet every fortnight. There were five main town centres in Veronica, these were Nessa, Urbino, Sousse, Modica, and Lecco. This meant that there were five different sections of the city, none of them looked any different and the people were all the same. It was just to keep the city more controlled. _

_Veronica was about twenty-five square kilometres in size. It wasn't really a big city but with all the buildings and people it seemed huge. Immediately where the buildings stopped, there would be bamboo, and nothing but bamboo for miles and miles. These bamboo fields were what isolated Veronica from the rest of the world, apart from the vast desert plains. Gambella was a strange place, it was like another planet. After living in Veronica it would seem as though it was the only place on Earth. The people of Gambella had not seen grass in over a two decades, the people who were born there had never seen it at all. The only place where trees could be found was toward the East side of the country, where there was a thick dangerous jungle which had never been properly explored. Somewhere in that jungle was a river, a second river which led to somewhere no one ever dreamed of reaching. That was Musslinn (according to legend). _

_There was a large crowd of people at the Sousse Town Centre. People were pushing and barging to get a better look at whatever was there. There were guards who wore helmets, a lot less decorated than Godric's, and they were holding long rusty swords. _

"_Back off, there's nothing to see here!" Guards would yell out repetitively. _

_Godric and Chapplinn drew closer to the crowd and then they were noticed. _

"_Everyone make way for the king!" One of the guards yelled out. No one seemed to take much notice though. Godric fell back to let Chapplinn step in front of him as they moved into the crowd. They realised that they would just have to push through. _

_Godric had always preferred to take the wagon, but most of the time Chapplinn would insist on walking, unless he had to get to the other side of the city. _

_Chapplinn put his arms forward and slowly made his way through the sea of people until finally he got to an opening. _

_Underneath the shades of the town centre was a group of guards, they were all surrounding a topless man. He was on his knees and had a metal cuff around his neck, which was attached to a chain held by one of the guards. _

_Everyone cleared as Lord Chapplinn reached them. The constant yelling had stopped and now everyone was looking towards their king. _

_Chapplinn stood in front of the man. He was well built, and fairly tall, with a couple of battle scars on his chest and back. Just by looking at him once you could easily assume that he was a soldier. _

_He had thick overgrown brown hair, his fringe was covering his eyes. _

_Chapplinn examined him carefully, and then something else caught his attention. On his left shoulder was a symbol. It had been engraved into his skin with what looked like a burnt knife. Chapplinn had never seen that symbol before, but it was definitely African. It was a vertical oval, with a smaller one in the middle, and a half on each side. It confused Chapplinn, and it certainly did make him comfortable. It simply meant that there was someone else out in Gambella, not of Veronica Camp, most probably the Sacreans. _

_Chapplinn stared at the symbol for a long moment, and then looked at the man, who was still looking down, taking deep breaths. _

"_Soldier! Arise!" Chapplinn declared out aloud. The man didn't react but was pulled up by the guards and was forced to face Chapplinn. One of the guards held his head in place, holding his hair out of his face. _

"_Do you have a name?" Chapplinn asked. The man just stared, his eyes half closed. _

"_What is your name?" Chapplinn tried again. There was still no response. One of the other guards grabbed the man by the head and shook it violently._

"_You will answer the King!". After a moments pause Chapplinn tried another approach. _

"_You don't see things like that everyday…where did you get it" He said, gesturing towards the symbol on the man's arm. There was still no answer. _

"_How long have you been out there?" Chapplinn asked. _

_The man still looked weary eyed at Chapplinn and then he finally spoke. _

"_Where am I?" He asked. His voice was scratchy and worn out. _

"_If I was to tell you that, I would be forbidden to let you go" Chapplinn said calmly. _

"_I wasn't expecting you to let me go anyway" He said. Chapplinn chuckled quietly. _

"_How right you were, but I was thinking that we could maybe come to some conclusion…you see, a lot of my people are alarmed by your presence, it's not everyday that we get an outlander wondering around our bamboo fields. If you were to help us figure out who you are, then I assure you, your death will be quick and painless…but if you don't cooperate, then we will find an alternative" Chapplinn explained evilly. _

_As much as the man wasn't showing it, it was impossible to not feel scared from Chapplinn's threats, but everyone else knew that Lord Chapplinn was not a man of violence, he actually had no intention of killing him. It was true that he was not going to ever leave Veronica alive, he would just be locked up though, but Chapplinn had faith in himself. He was good with people. He could instantly tell about people, and would always find a way to get to them. _

_The Man looked at Lord Chapplinn, _

"_What do you want to know?" The man asked casually. Chapplinn shrugged. _

"_Well we could start with your name" Chapplinn said. _

"_It doesn't matter what my name is…what do you really want to know" The man asked._

_Chapplinn's mouth dropped. He stood back, unprepared for what the man just asked him. _

"…_Where are you from?" He asked. The man looked around. _

"_Africa, actually I was born in Italy" The man said. _

"_You're a warrior aren't you, which army is it?" Chapplinn asked. _

"_I'm not a warrior, I'm a slave, well I was a slave…now I'm a prisoner, and who are you?" The man asked. Chapplinn suddenly lost his patients. _

"_No One cares who I am, are you a Sacrean?" Chapplinn asked. _

_Just from hearing the words, the crowd of people became uneasy. A small grin spread across the man's face. _

"_Shh!…" He hissed, and he pointed into the bamboo. Chapplinn spun around, his eyes fully open. Everyone else went silent and they all stared out into the bamboo fields. The only sound was the wind, and the distant birds. _

_The man moved his hands through the air. _

"_They're out there…they're watching us…" He whispered menacingly. Every word made Chapplinn more scared. He scanned the edge of the bamboo fields. He watched the light disappear in the green. The man was still whispering to himself. Chapplinn's eyes were still scanning the bamboo fields, and then he turned back to the man. _

"_Shut up!" He yelled. The man stopped. _

_Chapplinn looked at the guard holding the chain which went around the man's neck. _

"_Lock him up…do not give him any food or water, he can wait until tomorrow" Chapplinn said angrily, and then he looked into the man's dark brown eyes. _

"_I'll speak to you tomorrow, and you better answer properly, or I swear we will kill you, you got it?" Chapplinn said, staring the man in the eye. The man stared back, keeping his face serious and determined, but relaxed. _

"_Take him away!" Chapplinn declared, and with the wave of his hand, the man was taken away from the town centre and down the long dirt road, between thick rows of stone houses, toward the prison. _


	2. Delwinn

Chapter 2

Delwinn

_It was now dawn for the next day. The cool mist sat over the horizon of buildings, and the morning birds were all gathered around the river. Veronica was a different place in the morning, and at night for that matter. All of the markets were packed up and all of the trailers which lay scattered everywhere, carrying supplies were underneath the town centres. There were only a couple of people out, they were mainly just going for morning walks, because the best time to see Veronica was in the morning, when no one was out. _

_The markets had a precise schedule, they would always open at ten o'clock in the morning, and close at five o'clock in the afternoon. This was also the best time for fisherman to get out, while they still could, or the harbour would be so crowded and it would take forever, all the fish chose to come closer to the harbour in the morning because there would always be food scraps, not for long would the lengthy Green Row stay calm and peaceful. _

_The mist was so low at Veronica Camp, that you couldn't even see the top of Chapplinn's Castle. A flock of minor birds sat up on the high roofs of the castle and chirped about noisily. Seeing as the only trees in Gambella were thousands of miles away, the birds chose to nest up on the castle roofs, and the church. _

_As always, the King's Quarters, which in other words was the dirt yard which was separated from the rest of the city, and held Chapplinn's castle, with the rest of the King's buildings, was being guarded. The guards patrolled different parts of the yard to make sure there was no possible way for anyone to get in unannounced. _

_Chapplinn insisted that there was no reason for this high security, as they were so isolated, and until recently, there was no one else to get in. _

_In Chapplinn's twenty years in Veronica, he had only experienced one assignation attempt, that was six years ago. _

_He, Generio (the priest) and Godric, who was his bodyguard, were at the Ancolla, which was the restaurant built especially for Chapplinn, located in the King's Quarters. When Godric insisted that the duck's juice looked to runny, Chapplinn ignored him, knowing that Godric was paranoid about everything that he ate. _

_Still, being Chapplinn's bodyguard, he was subdue to letting him eat it. Chapplinn was very pleased, until they took it to the kitchen and the chef claimed it to be poison. They never found out who did it so Chapplinn had to fire everyone who worked there, to be safe. They were all given two hundred coins of gold to take into the city and start a house there. Every time Chapplinn thought about that day, he would laugh, because he never listened to Godric, because he was so worried about simple thing sand he spoke so much, but the one day he did listen, it saved his life. Godric was a great man, had had been Chapplinn's bodyguard for sixteen years now. _

_When Chapplinn was first sent to Veronica, he didn't have a bodyguard, but as the Sacrean threat reached Egypt, the council decided that he needed one. Luckily, when the Sacreans were down in South Egypt, they never actually found Veronica Camp. What they did do was destroy the Luissienna Camp, which was also controlled by The Romans. It was on the border line of Gambella. Luissienna and Veronica were linked together in the mission to start a secret city in Egypt, so they could eventually attack the Egyptians from behind, and right under their noses. _

_Luissienna was captained by Romelle Chapplinn, also known as Lord Chapplinn II. Romelle was Chapplinn's little brother, and he was sent to captain Luissienna, which was to support Veronica by taking care of their trade, and sending supplies down The Green Row. Luissienna was also by The Green Row, but further down the west, and out of the desert. Unfortunately, when The Sacreans came down in search of the rumoured Roman camps, they found Luissienna and destroyed it, killing everyone there, including Chapplinn's brother. _

_Chapplinn was devastated, not only because his brother had been killed, but also because it was said that Luissienna and Veronica depended on each other to run. Veronica supplied the military, and the other artillery, and Luissienna took charge of the trade, as Rome and their allies were constantly sending supplies down to Luissienna in secret. _

_All of the allied team agreed on this mission of building a city in the most unusual place to build one, so that they could eventually defeat the Egyptians. Chapplinn knew that without Luissienna, Veronica would die. They relied on Luissienna, but luckily he was wrong, because that was sixteen years ago. _

_After that incident, Godric was appointed to be Chapplinn's bodyguard. He was only nineteen years old when he first joined. At first Chapplinn didn't really like him, because he was only a teenager, and he didn't have much respect for Chapplinn, but in time that all changed. Eventually they became great friends, as they are now. _

_Inside the prison hall there was suddenly a clank, which woke the dirty prisoner up. He opened his eyes quickly and looked around his small cell. He had a two meter steel plank, which was supposed to be a bed, a toilet and sink, which was blocked from the walkway of the prison with a dark brown brick wall. There was one small barred which looked out into the backyard of what looked like a dock. You couldn't see any boats from the window but the fish smell was unnoticeable. _

_The prisoner had an unbearable pain on his stomach. This was because he had been asleep on the ground for the night. The steel bed, as uncomfortable as it was, was made even worse by the weather. The night had been a very cold one, as it always was in Gambella. The bed was stone cold, and the prisoner had not been given a shirt the other night, nor food or water, just like Chapplinn said. The prisoner had had a rough first night. _

_The prisoner pushed himself up slowly and sat on the steel bed, which was warming up slowly, as the sun was coming out. He rested his face in the palm of his hand and them looked up to see someone standing at the wall of bars, holding a tray of food and water. He also had a blanket hanging over his shoulder. _

_The prisoner looked at him, his eyes were tired and blood shot, his hair was greasy and messy. The man standing on the other side of the bars was about the same height as him, no where near and thick though. He didn't have many muscles, and was quite thin, he wasn't that small, it was just the prisoner was huge. After a couple of months in prison it would all go though._

"_Your breakfast" The man said, showing no enthusiasm. He refused to look at the prisoner. His brown eyes were wide and he looked angry, like he had been forced to go in to feed the prisoners, which wasn't a highly regarded job. It wasn't so bad this time though, because there were only a couple of prisoners there. _

_The prisoner stood up and walked slowly over to the bars, feeling the pain in his stomach increase, knowing now that it was also due to starvation. He hadn't eaten anything in days. _

_In the tray of food was what looked like porridge, cold obviously, but it was better than anything the prisoner had eaten in ages, probably years. _

_The man slipped the tray through a small opening, along with a bowl of water and the blanket. The prisoner took it and went down to sit on his bed, which was now completely under the light rays of the sun. _

_He dug the spoon into the thick porridge and then shovelled it into his mouth like a pig. The taste was astounding, every second he felt energy which he never knew he had come back to him. It seemed so strange to think that people would consider this food boring. It was the nicest thing he had eaten in years. _

_The man stood at the bars watching the prisoner with a disgusted look. The prisoner soon realised and then looked up at him. He didn't have to say anything, the man knew that he was getting to the prisoner, so he left and went further down the prison hall to feed the other prisoners. _

_The prisoner watched the man, listening as his footsteps disappeared, and then he continued on his breakfast. _

"_Lord Chapplinn should be here soon, you better get cleaning" Peppas said, sitting on the chair with his feet on a small wooden table, watching Delwinn work on the far end of the room, stirring coconut soup. _

"_I'm busy, why can't you just do it, it's your mess" Delwinn replied angrily. _

_Peppas stood up and walked over to Delwinn. _

"_Wrong, it's your mess…Delwinn, let me get one thing straight with you, I'm Peppas Bousind, owner of the West Shore Prison…you're Delwinn Tretley, West Shore Prison Janitor, I chose you for this job, which means you are going to do that job, and do it well" Peppas explained irritatingly, as he always would. _

"_But it would help if you didn't just make my work hard for the sake of it, why can't you just clean up after yourself" Delwinn said, not looking back. _

"_What?" Peppas said, as if he had never heard the word before, and then he threw his half-eaten coconut on to the floor, right in front of Delwinn. _

_Delwinn looked at him with furious eyes. Staring at the ugly plump figure of Peppas. His clothes stained with food, his mouth covered in pimples, his greasy long hair hanging over the side of his face. _

_Peppas was a slob, a fat greedy slob, he had been like that to everyone, even his friends, the few that he had. Especially to Delwinn, he had always been considered an ass, a fat bastard who thought of no one but himself. _

"_I can always find someone else" Peppas said lazily. Delwinn sighed and then he picked up the coconut shell and put it in the bin. _

_The door which led outside to the docks opened and Godric, the royal bodyguard of Lord Chapplinn came in. Peppas quickly pushed himself up and wiped his mouth on his already stained sleeve. Delwinn found it amusing to see that Peppas, who was a lot wealthier than him, was looking like a slob, and Delwinn, who was only working class looked really presentable. _

"_The Lord wishes to speak to prisoner three" Godric said, only looking at Peppas. _

_Peppas stood up straight, with his chin up._

"_As you wish my Lord, I was just about to send someone in to feed them", Peppas looked behind Godric, toward Delwinn. _

"_Come on Delwinn, we haven't got all day, what's been keeping you?" He asked irritatingly. Godric looked back at Delwinn._

"_I'm sorry, I guess I've been too busy cleaning up" Delwinn said. _

"_Of course you have" Peppas said, turning to Godric,_

"_I keep telling him, his just learning though". _

_Delwinn felt like punching Peppas in the face, he always felt like this about him. Sometimes he would ask himself if he would ever kill Peppas, take all his money and then run out of Veronica, but that would be a stupid thing to do. He'd never last out in the desert. _

_The prisoner stood standing in the kind sunlight. His eyes were focussed on the river, where the fishing boat were just starting to leave the docks. The sea gules travelled in packs around the piers, looking for any type of food they could. Their chirps were the only sounds that travelled through the city. Sometimes there was the occasional shout from one of the fishermen. _

_It was quite a peaceful morning, even in the prison. Because there wasn't much crime to be done in Veronica, there was really not that many criminals. Of course there would be the occasional thief, although only little robberies were committed. Stealing a sack of peanuts in Veronica was like stealing a horse in Italy. Still, there had to be some control and with that there would always be rebellion. Chapplinn had come to accept that, although for a king, he was very respected. He was renowned for getting on well with his people. _

_He always took part in the community. One of his favourite events to attend to was the Annual Boxing Festival. This would take place in the Opaque, which sat right in the centre of Veronica. It was used for many different purposes, due to its large capacity. It was built as a large dome, just like the Colosseum in Rome, only about ten times smaller. _

_Every December the best fighters from each part of the city (Lord Chapplinn supported Souse) would meet in the dome and would fight until the last man standing. It wasn't as brutal as the famous gladiator battles in Rome, these were only boxing matches. And not one single person had been killed. _

_The tranquillity of the prison was suddenly broken as the door at the far end opened. The prisoner looked, expecting to see the janitor pass through again, but he was mistaken. The man who entered was the same one who had threatened to kill him the other day. The prisoner didn't know who it was but could easily assume that he had a high ranking in society. Just by the look of his robes, and his massive golden chain, it was a give away really. _

_As Lord Chapplinn entered the prison, all of the other prisoners suddenly went wild. Some were crying, begging to be let out and others were cursing. Lord Chapplinn ignored all of this as he moved to toward the cell that captivated the only man who had not lost his mind (yet). The soldier was just standing there, his battle scars and large muscular body glowing in the sunlight. The soldier knew that this was coming. Chapplinn knew that as well. His top priority over anything now was to find out where this man had come from. _

_To Chapplinn it was pure ignorance that the man wouldn't speak. He was obviously just trying to be an annoyance, he may even have just been from Veronica, just trying to cause some controversy. Chapplinn frowned at the thought although when he thought of it, it seemed a hell of a lot better than him being a Sacrean. _

_Chapplinn stopped at the cell and the janitor, still looking as glum as ever opened the door. Chapplinn walked in and then, before the prisoner could even look at him, Godric came barging in with a sword. _

_Godric held the sword out so that it stopped just before the man's throat._

"_Against the wall!" Godric said, trying to sound more brave than he actually was. _

_The prisoner calmly walked towards the wall and raised both his hands. _

_Godric quickly checked him, although it was quite obvious he was not holding anything. He was stripped down to his undergarments. _

"_He's unarmed" Godric said quickly. _

_The prisoner moved toward his bed and Godric suddenly reacted again. _

"_STOP IT!" He yelled. _

_The prisoner stopped again and looked at Godric confused. _

"_Godric, for heaven's sake" Chapplinn said in a moderate tone. This was one of Chapplinn's most used lines when talking to Godric. _

_Godric went to the bed and picked up the spoon I that had been used for breakfast. He held it up to Chapplinn's face. Chapplinn rolled his eyes. _

"_You don't know what he was thinking" Godric said suspiciously. _

"_Your right, I could have forced him to eat the porridge, it tastes disgusting" The soldier said smartly. _

"_That's not funny" Godric said, turning back to the prisoner without noticing Chapplinn's weak grin. _

"_Please sit down" Chapplinn said, gesturing to the steel bed. The prisoner moved slowly and sat down, looking at his feet. _

"_So who are you? The king?" The soldier asked. Chapplinn was quite stunned with how much the man sounded Roman. Come to think of it, he even looked Roman. _

"_That's exactly right" Chapplinn said, "I am the king of Veronica Camp, my name's Lord Chapplinn". Chapplinn put out his hand. The prisoner hesitated and then shook it. _

"_I've come here today just to ask you a few questions" Chapplinn said. Godric stood behind with his arms folded, looking suspiciously at the prisoner. _

"_What then?" The prisoner asked impatiently. _

"_Well we can start with you name". _

_The prisoner frowned. He found this man so predictable. _

"_My name's Crucio Banderaz" The prisoner said. _

_Chapplinn's eye brows raised slightly. _

"_You're Spanish?"_

_Crucio nodded. _

"_Which army did you come from?"._

"_What makes you think I came from an army?"_

"_Don't play stupid with me, I know a soldier when I see one, how else would you get all those scars?". _

_Crucio looked at his chest. _

"_Maybe I was a fisherman, attacked by a Melosaur" He said._

"_Eight times?" Chapplinn said, with a hint of frustration. It was obvious that the man was lying. _

_Delwinn was standing out in the front yard of the prison, watching as the townspeople began to assemble their markets for the day. There were only about ten in the this street. A couple of kids were running around with wooden swords, laughing with joy. Delwinn watched them jealously. They seemed so happy to him. So innocent. Their lives hadn't even taken off yet. They still had the chance to work hard and secure a good life, although that seemed hard in Veronica. Even the most wealthy residents still needed to work hard all day and every day to live. _

_Delwinn hated himself for what he had become. He was a "pathetic poor little peasant" according to most of his friends. Although it hurt Delwinn to think that his friends thought that of him, it was true. He could find no better description for himself. _

_He stood out in the warm sand, slowly tracing an arc in the ground with his feet. It felt as though he had been here for ages but his work at the prison only started at sunrise, and it generally ended late in the afternoon, depending on how much work there was left to do, and how much work Peppas was willing to do himself. Delwinn still had a long way to o until he could head back home. He always enjoyed his walk home because the sky would be darker and that same cool breeze would travel though the empty streets. He always took that half hour walk to think back on his day, and try to convince himself that one day things will get better and that he was just going through a dark time. Every day was the same, and Delwinn always looked forward to it because it was the only time that he could actually relate to someone. _

_Delwinn stood outside for a little while longer, until he noticed Lord Chapplinn and his companion, who looked quite uncomfortable in this part of town. The two got into the horse cart and left. Delwinn stood and watched as it disappeared down the street. Obviously the prisoner hadn't been very cooperative. Delwinn didn't really keep in touch with the others, or the news so he didn't know much about the prisoner but he was aware that he was different from everyone else, he was feared to be a Sacrean. To Delwinn's knowledge, the Sacreans were Camp Veronica's mortal enemy. Although he hated this place, he still understood and respected its reason for being here, and to everyone, including him ,the thought of it being found by the Sacreans would be awful. If this did happen then the whole place would taken down, everyone slaughtered. The Sacreans were much more powerful than the Romans, and since this area was part of their territory, Veronica wouldn't stand a chance._


	3. Vincenttio

**Chapter 3**

**Vincenttio **

_**Luckily Delwinn did finish his working day earlier today. After Lord Chapplinn left the prison Delwinn just spent most of the time cleaning out the cells, and feeding the prisoners for lunch. Every day they would get the same food, disgusting, and usually mouldy porridge for breakfast and then an apple and a plain sandwich for lunch. Delwinn was used to being abused by the prisoners, they just wanted to get out and they had all leant to hate Delwinn because he was the one who had to make sure they ate their food. The only thing they could look forward to was Christmas, where they would be given a pair of new clothes and would be given a hot plate of fresh fish. That was their highlight of the year. **_

_**It was just starting to get dark in the city of Veronica. Delwinn had plenty of time to explore the market, which was something he didn't do much, except for on a Sunday when he didn't have to work. The crowds were still at large but it didn't seem to bother Delwinn, he was used to it. The constant sound of yelling was somewhat relaxing to Delwinn, everyone seemed to be very busy and it helped Delwinn in realising that he wasn't the only one who had to sacrifice his days doing something he didn't want to do. **_

_**Delwinn continued to travel through the market, heading for a specific shop, where one of his friends worked. It was a simple fish shop by the river, his favourite shop. It had become a tradition for Delwinn to go to this shop after a hard day's work. He just found it nice to relax and have a drink of Sessa Rum, which was one of the only alcoholic liquids that Veronica had . Every time they used to import it through the river they would receive about seven million litres. This was very important to the residents of Veronica so there was a very high demand for it. Ever since the Sacreans had destroyed Luissienna, the importation of Rum, along with all the other goods, was put to a halt. Things like rum and fish water were put to heavy restrictions, until ways of brewing alcohol in the bamboo fields were discovered. **_

_**It took about fifteen minutes for Delwinn to get to the shop. There were no other people in the shop, which was good. Delwinn could see his friend standing at the bar, just standing there looking out at the river. He had a beautiful view, although the river's beauty was extremely overrated, since everything else was just stone buildings or dead bamboo fields. **_

_**Delwinn walked into the shop and to the bar. The man looked at him happily. He was the same age as Delwinn, except he had a bigger build, and a short brown beard, which Delwinn had always hated. It was always greasy and tangled, just like the man's hair, but that didn't matter since he was one of Delwinn's only proper friends. His name was Vincenttio. He had actually left for Veronica with Delwinn, in hope of a better life, as that was what they were promised. Obviously things weren't as good as they seemed but Vincenttio had managed to find his place in society, something Delwinn was yet to accomplish. **_

"_**Ah! Delwinn! You're out early!" He said cheerfully (it was already evident that he had been enjoying a good day). **_

"_**Yeah, finally…how have you been?" Delwinn asked. **_

_**The man shrugged happily. **_

"_**Not bad, not bad…Camilla's still feeling pretty down but she's getting better" Vincenttio said. Delwinn bit his lip, he knew that Vincenttio didn't like bringing up his wife. She was suffering from some really bad sickness. There was very little medical treatment in Veronica but she was told by a doctor that it was something in the chest which was growing rapidly. Only in the past three months it had gotten worse and on right breast was now a large lump and it was only recently starting to hurt. **_

"_**Give her my love" Delwinn said awkwardly. There was then a silence, until after about five seconds, Vincenttio asked the usual question.**_

"_**Will it be the usual?"**_

_**Delwinn went to sit outside on the front porch of the shop where he could drink out by the river. At this time a small fishing boat was just passing by the shop. The man on the boat was holding a massive fish, about one meter in length. It seemed like quite a catch. **_

_**Delwinn sat at the table and watched as the boat passed by peacefully, thinking of how wonderful it would be to be a fisherman, just to spend your entire day out in the sun by yourself on a boat. Delwinn sat there for about two minutes and then Vincenttio came out with two pints of rum. It was towards the end of the day so he was going to have a drink as well**_

"_**How was your day?" He asked. **_

_**Delwinn shrugged. **_

"_**The same as usual, not very good…I saw that prisoner, the one they found outside".**_

"_**Really, have they spoken to him yet?" Vincenttio asked. **_

"_**I don't know, I mean, I saw Lord Chapplinn come into the prison but I was outside, they left pretty early as well" Delwinn said. **_

"_**What do you reckon they'd do if they find out he's a Sacrean?" Vincenttio asked, taking another sip of rum.**_

"_**Well they'd probably kill him, and then god knows what would happen…if there are Sacreans out there then we're pretty much doomed…" Delwinn said, looking over the lake again.**_

_**Vincenttio looked down at his lap.**_

"_**You seem to have a good view on life…" **_

_**Delwinn had left Vincenttio's just before nightfall, after having a nice two hours of drinking and catching up. They watched as the fisherman came in, all with their food for that night, and always with a large net of fish that they would trade in to the restaraunts for money, a couple of boats came to Vincenttio's. **_

_**After saying goodbye to Vincenttio, Delwinn left down the street, to pass through the markets that were now closing up. It was the same everyday, and everyone always seemed to be quite worn out and paranoid of everyone else around them. The fear that had sparked Chapplinn had also been spread around the city, and even Delwinn was beginning to wonder what a Sacrean invasion would mean. He had never seen a man get killed, he had never even held a weapon, the idea of war seemed only fictional to him, so for now he just managed to dismiss any fear of the Sacreans. **_

_**When Delwinn finally got to his house it was completely dark, apart from all the candle lights coming from the other houses. Delwinn's street was probably one of the worst in Veronica camp, stationed in the heart of Modica. Modica was considered by most people to be the lower class section, where most families who lived there needed the help of the Royal Government to fund their home. Most people who lived here also lacked the money to invest their own business or market, so they were employed as slaves, commonly to other market sellers, being food, textiles, or metal work. A smaller proportion were lucky enough to get to work on the fishing ships, rigging rods and nets, and cleaning or processing the fish. The smaller mumber, and the luckiest were assigned to working within the castle grounds of Lord Chapplinn, where they would serve in the kitchen or as maids (this was usually defined by their sex). **_

_**There were many views and attitudes in Veronica camp, quite simular to that of Rome's, where the men were considered to be the dominent gender. Women were always placed on the lower hand and were never given the higher payed jobs, although unlike men, they were expected to perform the least demanding jobs, such as sewing and teaching, whilst the men were out fishing and hunting. Age was an important part of defining your rank in society as well. In Veronica, as soon as you reached the age of twelve, you were legally old enough to work or start your own business, providing the king had approved of it first. **_

_**Delwinn did actually own his own house, he was renting the basement of a very rich family, one that you would least expect to meet in Modica. They, like Delwinn had been in Veronica since it was first founded, only they were a lot wealthier before they left Rome. The only reason Delwinn was able to afford a place in this house was because he had been friends with the family's son, who was now in his twenties, like Delwinn. He, however, had moved on and had nothing to do with Delwinn anymore. No one in the family really spoke to Delwinn, as they were embarrassed by his presence. But still, Delwinn couldn't complain. Every night they would provide him with food, free from expense. He only had to pay forty pounds a fortnight, and also he performed all of the manuel labours around the house, such as the gardening and the cleaning. **_

_**The moon was completely out tonight, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The stars were scatted all over, quietly watching down on the world. It was quite a peaceful night, and Delwinn looked up at the purple sky happily as he entered through ther back gate of the garden, which was really just a small courtyard, with no grass and some specially imported plants. **_

_**The house was lit up, and that always meant that dinner was underway, therefore Delwinn was not to make any disturbances. He slowly made his way across the yard, following the corroded foot path, down to his little shed. It was only small and was built out of wood, abd there was one small window, which was really just a hole in the wall. Delwinn was glad to call this little shed home though, as it was quite comfortable inside. Delwinn liked to keep things simple, therefore he only had one small matress, made out of bamboo string and wood; one old and torn pillow, filled from duck feathers; a quilt that Delwinn had purchased himself from the Springtime Market; a small chest which had Delwinn's four pares of clothes, and finally a large silver pot, which stood almost as high as the shed itself. Inside this pot was Delwinn's life savings,, he was now almost up to 4000 pounds. His friends were aware of this large amount of money, and they all called him a fool for not spending it. He continued to live a poor life which was based on the same daily routine, when he could easily buy himself a small boat and begin his fishing carreer. That amount of money could start up his own business, and get himself out of Modica, and to a more respected part of Veronica Camp. Only Delwinn was the sort of guy who didn't need the best, and although he didn't particulary enjoy his livinfg standards, he was not prepared to leave them either. **_

_**He refused to spend any of that money, because his one dream was to maybe, one day, find a way out of Veronica Casmp, and back to Rome, where his family was. He dreamed of seeing the green fields on Italy again, he dreamed of tasting his mother's cooking one last time. **_

_**He had not yet come up with a way to get out but he was sure that one day, if he was able to bribe someone, he might be able to make his own way out by hiding out in one of the import boats that travelled up and down the river every couple of years. That was Delwinn's life ambition, and he was going to stick to that, no matter what everyone else said. **_

_**The night drew darker and Delwinn found himself asleep on his bed with an empty bottle of run when suddenly he was awoken by a loud knock on the door. It came four times and then Delwinn finally woke up from his drunken dreams. He dashed to the door and opened it so fast that he scared the women on the other side. **_

_**She stood there looking at Delwinn with a welcome smile, her brown eyes gazing into Delwinn's peacefully, which was something Delwinn rarely got from a girl. She was holding a plate of pasta, in tomato sauce. **_

"_**Care for any food?" She asked. **_

_**Delwinn was still half asleep, and was desperately trying to hide the fact that he was drunk. **_

"_**Uhh..yeah…cheers…' He said clumsily, as he took the plate. **_

_**The girl gave him the plate and then stood there smiling at him.**_

"_**Had a busy day I suppose?" She said after Delwinn realised that she wasn't prepared to leave the conversation. **_

"_**Yeah…same as usual I guess…I saw that man they found in the bamboo fields" Delwinn said slowly still.**_

_**The girl showed instant interest and she even stepped inside Delwinn's shed, which Delwinn didn't like because just by his bed were three empty bottle of rum. **_

"_**Really! What was he like?" She asked.**_

_**Delwinn was forced to step back a bit. **_

"_**Oh…he was pretty strange…quite a toungue I heard…he insuled Lord Chapplinn without any hesitation…"**_

_**To Delwinn's horror, he found that the girl was no longer looking at him, but instead was looking at the bottles. Delwinn noticed this and then looked away in embaressment. **_

_**After an akward silence Delwinn asked the only question he could think of.**_

"_**Do you want a drink?" He asked her, and then he cursded himself inside.**_

_**The girl looked at him awkwardly and then stepped back outside. **_

"_**Oh, I really shouldn't…I have to be up early in the morning for the market" She said, and then, without giving anything more than a small gesture she made her way back up the path to her house. Delwinn watched until she went inside and then he closed the door.**_

"_**Do you want a drink?" He repeated, mocking himself, and then he kicked the wall with some strength. He was never good with conversations, especially with the women. He had only had one girlfriend and that was back when he was fifteen, back in Rome. **_

_**He sat back on his bed and thought to himself angrily. He almost forgot that he was drunk, and then it came back to him, the heavy feeling that made him just want to sleep, and with that one last thought, he decided that it was because of the alcohol that he acted so strange. After telling himself that he lay back on his bed and closed his eyes, slowly fading back into his dream. **_

_**He was back on the boat, rocking gently with the river. Listening to the rhythmic sound of water splashing against the wood. He lay there looking up into the blue sky, whistling a soft hymn to himself. The day was perfect and his life, for once, seemed to be happy. With this speculation he smiled to himself and let the boat slowly glide down the stream, into the green wilderness, where no other man could be found…where he himself would never be found………**_


End file.
